Northern Ireland: Offences Involving Private Hire Taxi Drivers

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	During each of the past five years in Northern Ireland, how many cases have been reported relating to rape, drunken driving or mugging of passengers by private hire taxi drivers.

Baroness Amos: As aggregated details of the types of offence are not kept, and as taxi driving licences are generic with no split between private and public hire licences, this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Northern Ireland National Memorial Committee

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the steering committee on a National Military Museum for Northern Ireland has yet reported; and, if not, when it is expected to report.

Baroness Amos: The committee, now known as the Northern Ireland National Memorial Committee, has not yet reported but is expected to report in spring 2005.

West Belfast: Gaeltacht Quarter

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether it is still their policy to create a Gaeltacht Quarter in West Belfast; if so, when; and what similar arrangements are to be put in place for Ulster-Scots under the policy of parity of esteem.

Baroness Amos: Officials are working with community representatives to take forward the recommendation of the Joint West Belfast/Greater Shankhill Task Force that a Gaeltacht Quarter be developed. Proposals are expected early next year. Proposals for an Ulster-Scots quarter have not been submitted.

Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Prime Minister will reply to the letter of 10 September, addressed to him by the Grand Council of the Cree and others, concerning the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and, if so, whether they will place a copy of the reply in the Library of the House.

Baroness Amos: As far as I am aware, the Prime Minister's Office has not received this letter.

Prisoners: Repatriation of Foreign Nationals

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they consider that the 87 prisoners who were repatriated in 2003 is commensurate with the 9,000 foreign nationals in the prisons of England and Wales; and whether they will review and simplify the procedures for the voluntary repatriation of prisoners.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Her Majesty's Government fully support the humanitarian principles underpinning repatriation and are keen to ensure that wherever possible prisoners are allowed to serve their sentences in their own countries. As at 31 October 2004, HM Prison Service held 8,996 prisoners who gave their nationality as other than British. Of these, 3,349 came from countries with which the United Kingdom has a prisoner transfer agreement. The Government will continue to encourage other countries to conclude prisoner transfer agreements.
	Repatriation remains a voluntary process. Not all foreign nationals will wish to transfer to another country, particularly if their primary links are with the UK. In 2003, only 147 prisoners applied for repatriation. The Prison Service is keen to see this figure increased and to ensure that prisoners are aware of the possibility of repatriation. The Foreign National Resource Pack, which was launched on 1 December at Wormwood Scrubs prison by my honourable friend the Minister for Correctional Services and Reducing Re-offending, contains information for prisoners and staff about the repatriation process and how to apply for repatriation. Procedures governing repatriation are kept under constant review.

Gypsies and Travellers: Housing Needs

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will ensure that, in assessing the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers, local housing authorities consult the Traveller Education Service.

Lord Rooker: Guidance on the inclusion of Gypsies and Travellers in the housing needs assessment process is currently being drafted. The Government recognise the importance of involving stakeholders in this process and when produced, the guidance will include a list of stakeholders that local authorities should consult when they are conducting their housing needs assessments.

Millennium Dome

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will provide an update on the current position of the Millennium Dome, including current monthly running costs; estimated monthly running costs for the next financial year, and any recent negotiations regarding the Dome's future.

Lord Rooker: As indicated in my Written Statement to the House on 21 June 2004, (Official Report, col. WS41), the commercial deal between English Partnerships and the consortium of Lend Lease, Quintain Estates and Development plc and Anschutz Entertainment Group has gone unconditional. Since that time substantial progress has been made by the private sector developers on preparations for start of work both on the new arena in the Dome, and associated operations, and on the development of the new homes and allied community facilities on the wider peninsula lands, including through securing further detailed planning permissions and in working up business plans and negotiating with contractors.
	Auschutz expects to start work on the new arena early next year, for it to open in 2007. Meridian Delta Limited (Lend Lease and Quintain) expect to start work on transport infrastructure works and on the Millennium Square outside the Dome, for which Greenwich Council recently resolved to grant planning permission, in 2005. Development of the first new homes will start in 2006.
	As also indicated in my Statement of 21 June, English Partnerships will continue to incur costs in relation to the Dome until Anschutz completes construction of the arena. The average monthly running costs on the Dome for the six months to the end of September were £189,000; these costs comprise management, maintenance, security and English Partnerships' staff costs. English Partnerships estimates that the average monthly cost could fall to around £60,000 when the main arena contract starts in 2005.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have exercised or intend to exercise the power conferred by Section 75(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to amend or repeal enactments prohibiting the disclosure of information held by public authorities.
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The Government have conducted a wide-ranging review of statutory prohibitions on disclosure over a number of years. The review is now drawing to a close.
	Over 400 items have been identified during the course of the review, of which 44 have been repealed or replaced by other legislation during the course of the review; 37 are agreed for repeal or amendment (of which eight amendments are to introduce a "sunset clause" ranging from 10 to 100 years depending on the information protected); 102 will be retained; and 247 are presently being reviewed.
	Details of the interim findings are included at Chapter 5 of the annual report on the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act, published on 29 November. A final report on the Government's review of statutory prohibitions on disclosure will be published in March 2005.
	As a result of this work, the first order to be made under Section 75(1) of the Freedom of Information Act was laid before Parliament on 4 November this year, relating to eight of the 37 enactments mentioned above. These are: Factories Act 1961, Section 154; Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963, Section 59; Medicines Act 1968, Section 118; Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Section 28; Biological Standards Act 1975, Section 5; National Health Service Act 1977, Schedule 11, paragraph 5; Audit Commission Act 1998, Section 49; and Access to Justice Act 1999, Section 20.
	The majority of these amendments prevent the prohibitions applying to disclosures made by public authorities subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

Northern Ireland: Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the policies and priorities of the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise with regard to organised crime in Northern Ireland; whether they differ from policy in the United Kingdom generally; and how many prosecutions and convictions each has secured in Northern Ireland in the current and previous two years.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Both departments seek to tackle the specific criminal offences for which they have responsibility in Northern Ireland as elsewhere within the UK on the basis of the risks that exist. They do so throughout the UK irrespective of any other illegal activities undertaken by those individuals and groups that commit such crimes.
	Prosecution data are not published in a consistent form across the various regimes for which the departments are responsible. Details of the prosecutions and convictions secured by Customs in the years 2001–02 and 2002–03, where available, are shown in the table below, along with details of Inland Revenue prosecutions for 2003–04 and the current year to the end of September. Details of Customs prosecutions and convictions for 2003–04 will be published in the department's annual report and accounts on 16 December.
	
		
			   2001–02  2002–03 
			 HMCE Number of Prosecutions Number of Convictions/Persons Convicted Number of Prosecutions Number of Convictions/Persons Convicted 
			 Oils Fraud (GB) 8 9 7 8 
			 Oils Fraud (NI) 8 15 3 3 
			 VAT (UK) 89 2 62 60 2 68 
			 Drugs (UK) – 1 1,816 – 1 1,359 
			 Customs (Other) UK – 40 – 30 
		
	
	
		
			  2003–04   2004–05 (1/4/04–30/9/04) 
			 Inland Revenue Number of Prosecutions Number of Convictions/Persons Convicted Number of Prosecutions Number of Convictions/Persons Convicted 
			 UK – 99 – 109 
			 NI (included in above) – 2 – 6 
		
	
	1 Number of people sentenced.
	2 Number of cases which resulted in conviction.

Licensing Act 2003: Impact on Law and Order

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What indices they have used to measure the effects of the Licensing Act 2003 on law and order; and whether sufficient time remains before the second appointed day to collect the baseline data needed for a proper assessment.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: There are already sufficient baseline data regarding alcohol-related crime and disorder available from the British Crime Survey to enable a thorough review of the impact of the 2003 Act to take place, but further work will be done to refine our understanding of the current position prior to the second appointed day. In addition, data collected during the summer enforcement campaign and the forthcoming campaign over the Christmas and New Year period will further inform the later review.

Pensions

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the cost in 2003–04 of tax relief for pension contributions at (a) the basic rate of tax; and (b) the higher rate of tax; and whether they will estimate by how much the basic full state pensions would have increased on a weekly and annual basis if the amount spent in 2003–04 on higher rate tax relief for private pension contributions had been spent on the state pension.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The estimated cost of tax relief in billions of pounds for private pension contributions made in 2003–04 by marginal tax rate is provided in the table below.
	
		
			 Contributiontype Non-Higher rate Higher rate Total 
			 Individuals 2.4 3.3 5.7 
			 Employer 1 4.5 6.2 10.7 
		
	
	1 On the assumption that contributions by the employer are not taxed as a benefit in kind to the employee, and that contributions are distributed in the same way as for individual contributions.
	The estimates in the table do not represent the cost of withdrawing or restricting the current relief, since any such change would be likely to result in large behavioural changes. Due to the uncertainty of these behavioural changes, estimates are not available for how much the basic state pension could have increased.

Pensions

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will estimate what number and percentage of people aged over state pension age would pay (a) no tax; (b) tax at starting rate; (c) tax at basic rate; and (d) tax at the higher rate, if there were no age-related tax allowances for people aged 65 and over.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The requested information is contained in the table below:
	
		
			 2004–05 Number of people over state pension age(1) (thousands) % of all people over state pension age 
			 (a) Non Taxpayer 5,120 46 
			 (b) Starting Rate Tax(2) 980 9 
			 Savings Rate Tax(3) 480 4 
			 (c) Basic Rate Tax(4) 4,320 39 
			 (d) Higher Rate Tax(5) 230 2 
			 All pensioners(6) 11,130  
		
	
	The estimates are based upon the Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) 2001–02 and Budget 2003.
	Note:
	The SPI is not representative of non-taxpayers and given the nature of this analysis the estimates should be treated with caution, as some pensioners would become taxpayers.
	(1) Men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over.
	(2) Taxpayers with a marginal rate at the 10 per cent starting rate from an extra £1 of earnings.
	(3) Taxpayers with a marginal rate at the 20 per cent lower rate for savings income or the 10 per cent ordinary dividend rate from an extra £1 of earnings.
	(4) Taxpayers with a marginal rate at the basic rate from an extra £1 of earnings.
	(5) Taxpayers with taxable income above the higher rate threshold.
	(6) Pensioner population estimates provided by the Government Actuary's Department.

Pensions

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the cost in 2003–04 of higher personal tax allowances for people aged over 65: and whether they will estimate by how much the basic full state pension would have increased on a weekly and annual basis if this sum had been spent on state pensions.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: I refer the noble Baroness to table T1.5 "Tax expenditures and structural reliefs" on the Inland Revenue website http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/tax–expenditures/table1-5.pdf. Estimates are not available for how much the basic state pension could have increased if this sum had been spent on state pensions, due to the uncertainty of behavioural effects.

European Monetary System and EU Single Currency

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will re-examine the prospects for United Kingdom admission to the European monetary system and the European Union single currency in the light of recent major changes in leading world currency rates.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The 2004 Budget reported progress on the Government's reform agenda since the June 2003 assessment of the five economic tests. As the Chancellor said in his Budget speech, "while the Government do not propose a euro assessment be initiated at the time of this Budget, the Treasury will again review progress at Budget time next year and report to the House".

Olympic Games 2012: London Bid

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether London's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games involves the disposition by NATO of a similar number of troops as the 3,500 NATO troops in attendance at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Theme 12 of the Candidate File for the London 2012 Bid outlines the proposed security arrangements should London be selected to host the 2012 Olympics. A copy of the Candidate File was deposited in the Library of the House on 19 November 2004. Everything possible will be done to maintain public order and minimise the security risks but it would be premature at this stage to speculate about the measures that will be required and will be in place in 2012.

Olympic Games 2012: London Bid

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What provision for security was included in the United Kingdom bid for the 2012 Olympic Games; and how this compares to the provision made for security for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The details of the security arrangements proposed for the bid to stage the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 are shown in Volume 3, Theme 12 of the Candidate File, deposited in the Library of the House on 19 November 2004. UK police and security agencies played an integral part in assisting Athens with security for the 2004 Games. They will play a major role in the security preparations should London host the 2012 Olympic Games.

Information Technology Projects: Oversight

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Written Answers by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 8 November (WA 61-62) are consistent with the recent report from the National Audit Office Improving IT Procurement indicating that government departments are bypassing the Gateway Review process.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: My Written Answers were consistent with the National Audit Office report.
	The Office of Government Commerce welcomes the recommendations made by the NAO and the NAO's confirmation that "the Gateway process is improving the procurement of IT, and that this should increase the likelihood of successful delivery". The NAO noted the risk of projects entering the Gateway process too late or leaving too early which OGC has acknowledged and taken measures to address.
	The NAO concluded that structures are in place to minimise the risk of future IT failure and that department and supplier behaviour is changing positively as a result of the OGC's work.

NHS Continuing Care

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 22 January (WA 150), whether they have now fulfilled the commitment they gave on 27 March 2003 (HL Deb, col. 984), during the passage of the Community Care (Delayed Discharges) Act 2003, that every patient concerned should be assessed for fully-funded continuing care before social services are contacted.

Lord Warner: Under the Community Care (Delayed Discharges) Act 2003, the process when arranging hospital discharges is to consider a patient for fully funded National Health Service continuing care and arrange an appropriate continuing care assessment before notifying social services.

Carers

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to extend their consultation on the carers practice guide relating to the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 beyond local authorities to users, interest groups and relevant charities.

Lord Warner: We understand that the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) will use the evidence from its current knowledge review on the participation of carers in changing and improving social care, to produce a practice guide for local authorities. The practice guide will include advice on how to implement the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 and will be developed in consultation with key stakeholders. It is likely to be published in summer 2005.
	In developing practice guides, SCIE consults extensively with a range of stakeholder groups. SCIE places particular emphasis on the participation of service users, carers and will also include a range of organisations with an interest in this area.

Multiple Sclerosis: Aimspro

Lord Hoyle: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What National Health Service hospitals or medical centres are using Aimspro in the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis or other diseases; and whether there are any plans to expand the use of Aimspro to other hospitals.

Lord Warner: The treatment Aimspro is not licensed for use in the United Kingdom and, therefore, will not be widely used in the National Health Service. The Department of Health is aware that Aimspro is being used in limited trials in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, including a study at St George's Hospital, London.

Modernising Rural Delivery Programme

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the change of leadership role of the "Chairs' Group", set up as part of the Modernising Rural Delivery programme, involves assistance from other staff; and, if so, what is the full time equivalent of (a) civil servants; (b) special advisers; and (c) others, providing such support.

Lord Whitty: Direct support to the Chairs Group set up to help provide leadership to the Modernising Rural Delivery change programme is provided by English Nature. This amounts to a small part of one person's job. Officials may attend meetings to participate in the discussion but it is not a diversion from their main work. There has been no change in this approach now that we have moved from policy development to the implementation of the Modernising Rural Delivery programme as set out in the Rural Strategy 2004.

Biodiversity

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What arrangements the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has made to make use of the detailed biodiversity information held in local records centres for targeting and advising on environmental stewardship; and in their view what efficiencies can be realised by doing so.

Lord Whitty: The provision of detailed local information can assist in targeting the agri-environment schemes towards locally significant wildlife, thereby delivering greater benefits to biodiversity in that area. Defra has made a substantial investment over the years in the National Biodiversity Network, which is improving the access to biological records from many sources, including those held by local records centres. I understand that such data are increasingly being used in the targeting process for agri-environment schemes.